Can I use different Apple ID for Music on Catalina?

Question

I just got a new 16" MBP at work. It runs Catalina of course.

I use a work based Apple ID for this machine. I have a personal Apple ID that I use on my iPhone which recently just got an Apple Music subscription. Is there a way to have the Catalina music app use a different Apple ID than the (work based) one that the rest of macOS knows about?

Answer 1

Yes - you can sign in using different Apple ID for the music app and not share the same AppleID as you do with other items like the App Store, iCloud preferences, FaceTime and Messages. In fact, you could choose a different account for each one of the above if you wanted to be creative or difficult or just had specific needs.

• I use my work AppleID for Messages and FaceTime and iCloud.
• I use my personal AppleID for the App Store and Music. (Where I subscribe to Apple Music as well)
  • For the macOS Music app - look in the Account menu - sign out of the wrong account and then choose Sign In... to switch to the one you prefer.

Works for me, no issues, no complaints. The activation count issues of the past seem to have disappeared for almost everyone.